Relationship of Lactobacilli to the Carious Lesion

¹ Department of Microbiology, Northwestern University Dental School, and Dental Clinic, Robert R. McCormick Chicago Boys' Club, Chicago, Illinois

The agar-replica method was used to determine the relationship between the clinical carious lesion and the localized lactobacillus growth sites. The data revealed that the localized lactobacillus colonies on the agar model corresponded with the clinical carious lesions in 82 percent of the instances studied. After 4 months, the correspondence of carious lesions to lactobacillus growth sites was 72.2 percent. The agar-replica method detected lactobacillus sites in all but one of the subjects, with a salivary lactobacillus count of more than 5,000 lactobacilli/ml. of saliva. After dental restoration, 94.2 percent of the lactobacillus growth at the sites was eliminated.

These results suggest that this technic is of value in studying the relation of lactobacilli to carious lesions and, further, that it can be used in longitudinal studies of dental caries. The technic has the added advantage of studying lactobacilli at their actual points of growth. Observations suggest that a direct relationship exists between presence of lactobacilli and the active carious lesion.

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